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[bangpaul]

Hey Gang,

I've been out of town for three months and came back to a bike that wouldn't start. After charging the battery, I realised all the fuel had evaporated (it was a hot summer) but a little was left in reserve. Once some fresh fuel was put in I finally got it started.

My ignition has been getting more temperamental for some time now. What started out as occasionally not working has turned into only occasionally working, and now not working at all. Until next time, perhaps.

Any tips for a total incompetent? I took the top off the right hand cluster and had enough trouble even getting the accelerator cable (or whatever it's called) back in place properly -- to give you an idea of my lack of knowledge.

I am proud to tell you all that I did do quite a fine job of reupholstering the seat before leaving -- even if it did take me an entire long day -- and will post some pics in the near future.

Good to be back,



Paul.

[Dizerens5]

Not sure about your starting problem but I can assure you: refitting the throttle cables to the grip on these bikes is a nightmare, most people have trouble with that, you're not the only one!

[Bob_Roller]

What is your starting problem, does the starter turn over ?

Or is it the starter rotates but the engine never fires ?

[bangpaul]

It's totally dead. Not turning over at all. It was being unpredictable beforehand, but now, after finally getting the bike started it's not responding at all.

I'm itching to go for a ride too after three months out of the saddle.

[montmil]

Begin checking all the "free" stuff, ie: ground wires, starter connections, ground wires, relay, ground wires. Oh, and don't forget those danged ground wires. Check the connections to the starter itself. Hidden away, these important connections are often ignored.

Is your battery good? If it's been sitting as long as the bike's fuel has been, it may be in poor condition.

If there is no joy when you poke the starter button (and you did mention a long term issue) perhaps trace that circuit, too. Be careful if you decide to open up the switch. Little parts may fly...

Do you have a VOM? Helpful.

[Bob_Roller]

My advice is you remove the battery cables from the battery, connect jumper cables to another vehicles battery, no need to run the engine, and see if it's just a bad battery, before doing any more trouble shooting .

If the bike has sat for a few months without being run, good chance the battery is bad .

If you have removable caps on the top of the battery, remove them, that can tell you real quick the condition of the battery, if you can see the plates inside the battery, I would just get a replacement .

[bangpaul]

You're probably right about the battery. It turned over this morning but quickly ran out of charge before it properly fired up. I checked the battery levels, and they were all fine, apart from one being a little low, but not low enough to expose the plates. It does look pretty old though.

I've got the battery back on charge which will hopefully give it enough juice to get me on the road again so I can ride down to the Beamer parts supplier and get another one.

Hopefully it's just the battery. I didn't realise a weak old battery would be enough to make the starter go completely dead.

[Bob_Roller]

Motorcycle batteries aren't overly robust and die pretty quickly compared to a larger auto battery if neglected .

[bangpaul]

My local supplier has these batteries:http://www.munichmotorcycles.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=2920

Are they better than the wet cell batteries? The price might seem a little high to those in the UK or US, but I suppose once I pay for freight on such a heavy item, it will be worth it just for the convenience.

Thanks for all your help.

[tvrla]

Those are very good batteries - most of my bikes have them. I can leave them on the shelf for years and without any charging, fire the bike right up. They're amazing!

But you're right - they're much more expensive than here. I got mine for something like half your cost.

[bruce_launceston]

Paul, 3 1/2 years ago I paid $192 AUD for a genuine BMW A.G.M. battery for my R65.

I have previously got 8 years from EACH of the genuine old style BMW batteries, the first was the factory fitted one and the second was a genuine replacement one. The third battery was an Odyssey AGM, it only lasted 2 years!

So back to the genuine stuff, definately worth the extra few dollars, especially as they are now AGM.

[Barry]

Even though they need a bit of looking after I'm a fan of conventional wet batteries and usually manage to make them last a very long time. I think my record is 12 years on the car. 8 years on a bike is very good going though, I'd be happy with that.

The Odyssey batteries are just too stupidly expensive in the UK and though they can last you also hear of a few sudden failures. No way I'm paying almost 3 times the price of a car battery to put an Odyssey in the bike.

On the other hand if you don't want the fuss of keeping a battery fully charged at all times then an AGM is probably the thing to have. Perhaps more especially in hot climates which kills batteries in short order.

[Bob_Roller]

The standard 'flooded' type lead acid batteries have a good service life, if kept properly charged (float charger when not being ridden) and fluid level checked on a regular basis .

Before I moved to a suburb of hell (Phoenix), I lived in Chicago, a standard BMW lead acid battery would last about 6-7 years, with the incessant heat, I was lucky to get 24 months on a standard battery .

I've gone to AGM type batteries in all of the vehicles, my longest lived AGM, is in my Z3, it's going on 9 years now .

[bangpaul]

Thanks for all the advice guys. After another proper charge the bike finally started and it's been a joy to get back on it. I'll probably go with the AGM when it's really needed. Until then I'm just going to stick with this one.